How To Build A Successful Business Blog (a Getting Started Guide)

Whether you’re a local business owner, entrepreneur, or brand – finding new ways to generate business can be a challenge.

Especially in the highly competitive online world where content is King and differentiation is the fine line between success and failure.

That’s where blogging comes in.

Building a successful business blog can give your business the edge it needs. Not only is it a cost-effective way to enhance your inbound marketing efforts, but it also becomes a magnet – attracting prospective clients in an organic and natural way.

Whether you’re looking to start a blog from scratch or reinvent your current blog, this post will walk you through the setup of a successful (and profitable) business blog.

How do I know these steps will set you up for success? Because they’re the exact steps I took to set up my award winning blog!

Ready to get started? Read my ultimate getting started guide to building your business blog. And don’t forget to leave a comment with a link to your blog.

I’d love to hear (and see) how blogging is supporting your business!

Is A Business Blog Really Important?

A business blog is an essential element of your marketing strategy. And I tell you that from years of experience.

I started my first blog (the very one you’re on right now) in 2004. At the time, I was in the real estate and mortgage industry and looking to make connections on a local level.

But I quickly figured out the national implications as well. I began building relationships within my industry, creating connections I would have never been able to make otherwise.

Many of those relationships blossomed into true friendships that I still hold dear today. Many others turned into business opportunities.

Whether it’s speaking at a national event or traveling as a brand ambassador, blogging has opened (and continues to open) doors for me I never thought possible.

One of my most recent achievements is being named a 2015 Top 10 Social Media Bloggers by Social Media Examiner.

This was a monumental moment in my blogging career and an honor that made every long, sleepless and stressful night worthwhile.

So think about it.

What are you losing by not having a blog?

And what could you accomplish tomorrow if you started a blog today?

Benefits of a Business Blog:

Beyond the benefits I’ve mentioned above, what else can a blog do for your business and personal brand?

“48% of users say that if they arrive on a business site that isn’t working well on mobile, they take it as an indication of the business simply not caring.”

Steps to getting started:

Finding the right domain name is a crucial piece to building a successful blog. Do your research, understand the keywords people are using to find your product or service and then keep your blog and domain name consistent.

Purchase your domain and setup hosting. You don’t have to do this through the same company, but it does make setup easier.

Hosting is a big decision and not to be taken lightly. You have free blog hosting and paid. In my opinion, if you’re building a business blog, WordPress (org not com) is the only way to go.

Not sure what the difference is? Here’s a nice visual breakdown from Ramsay at BlogTyrant:

I won’t go into the details of setting up hosting in this post, but will direct you to an excellent article on WordPress hosting options.

Once you’re ready to add WordPress to your hosting, follow their detailed instructions or hop over to my friend Pauline Cabrera’s blog where she walks you through the setup step-by-step.

4. Establish Your Goals

Like anything worthwhile, blogging will take an investment of time and energy.

Before you create your business blog ask yourself why you want to start a blog, what you want to get out of it and what you want your audience to get out of it.

Do you know what you’re looking to achieve with your blog?

If you don’t – you’re headed for failure. As with anything, if you don’t know what you want to get out of it, you shouldn’t get into it.

The goal is to grow an audience while retaining current subscribers as faithful followers and active participants. When readers find your content to be professionally written and highly informative, they are more receptive and trusting.

A blogging strategy to help build rapport while elevating your brand might include:

2 blog posts per week about the latest industry information (focus on solving a problem or challenge)

A series of “how-to” posts that provide strategic ways to grow their business career field

A tutorial on how to create an effective social media strategy to increase sales conversions

6. Create a Regular Schedule

The key to every successful blog is consistency. Determine how often you’ll post and what days of the week you’ll publish new articles.

Creating consistency in your posting schedule does two things. It forces you to build a habit around writing – something many struggle with, especially at first – and it sets expectations for your readers.

An editorial calendar will also keep you focused on your topic and posting on a regular schedule.

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